Families face rising prices this autumn as shops and businesses pass on increased costs to their customers. Post-pandemic and Brexit bottlenecks are driving up the cost of many imported goods and raw materials, a Bank of Ireland survey shows today. According to the bank's Economic Pulse, shops, services, builders and industries report say non-labour costs have risen over the last three months. Barry O'Halloran has the details.
Barry also reports that insurers are warning there are ongoing risks of "ghost brokers" selling fradulent policies in Ireland following recent UK reports of a surge in such cases. Industry experts and regulators warn the problem is an ongoing one here, despite recent successes in detecting it, as fraudsters are growing more sophisticated.
In his column this week, Eoin Burke-Kennedy writes no-one knows what's happened to the North's trade with Britain, or more precisely the hit being inflicted on the North's economy from Brexit and to what degree the pick-up in trade with the South is compensating. One economist has, however, made a stab at it and reckons the protocol has cost the North about £850 million.
As offices reopen, the debate around white-collar work has tended to pit the workplace against the home. But Emma Jacobs wagers that for many employees it is actually a battle for autonomy. "If you strip away why people want flexibility, you find they want control over how much, where and when they work."
Irish air tavel was around half pre-pandemic levels over the final weekend of what would normally be airlines' three busiest months. The news comes as the Government this week prepares to announce further easing of Covid restrictions that could signal a near return to normal life in the Republic by the end of September.
Almost 60 per cent of Irish finance professionals say their employee's mental health and wellbeing is the most significant issue facing their business, a new report shows. The response from Irish finance chiefs was higher than that of their global counterparts according to a survey by the ACCA and PwC.
In Opinion, chief executive of Axa Ireland Philip Bradley writes that the business community has a particular opportunity to tackle climate change, and that his company is willing to use its power and resources to help move the issue forward.
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